Abstract
The use of highly discriminative approaches for the identification and characterization of genotypes (especially with known medicinal value) is essential for plant conservation and appropriate use. Therefore, molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Chrozophora oblongifolia L. and Ricinus communis L. collected from Taif were presented using ITS, ITS2, rbcLa and matK sequences. rbcLa region recorded higher percentage of the variable sites within the two species. Tajima test and Transition/Transversion bias (R) showed no molecular evolution within C. oblongifolia genome, whereas, they indicated an accelerated evolution within R. communis genome. The intraspecific divergence of ITS and ITS2 was lower than that of matK and rbcLa loci. The phylogentic analysis proved that the rbcLa site showed a higher intraspecific difference than ITS2 in C. oblongifolia. Although, accessions of R. communis from the same country or continent showed limited genetic diversity, they did not get together and revealed intraspecific divergence. For a rapid and accurate identification of Euphorbiaceous species having medicinal importance, our analyses enforced the employment of the ITS2 mini-barcode as a universal barcode.